Essential tips when buying a personal health insurance

The most secure way to prepare yourself against diseases that
can easily strike unawares is by buying a personal health insurance. Some of
you might have already known the benefits or the reason why because you have
already subscribed for one. But to many that are yet to register for one, the
big question you might be asking yourself is, "do i really need to?"
And my answer for you is "yes, you do". That is why in this post i
shall be giving you some essential tips you need to know when buying a personal
health insurance.

Basically, health insurance or private medical insurance
covers the cost of private medical treatment for acute conditions (i.e disease,
illness or treatments that can respond to medications or treatment). According
to Money Saving Expert, they said and i quote..

Private health insurance may be a luxury, but it is a
necessity

One thing you must have at the back of your mind is that
health insurance are not designed to cover all health issues. Just like i
stated earlier, it only covers acute conditions that occurs after a policy
begins. Which actually means that most health insurers will not cover or cater
for pre-existing conditions.

How
does personal health insurance works?

Personal health insurance works under the methodology of
a subscriber paying a monthly sum to an insurance company (premium) under the
premise that the company will provide the subscriber with essential treatments
as at when due, including hospital care.

Now take a full note of the following essential tips:

Types
of insurance plans

There are different kinds of insurance plans to choose
from. Some basic policies covers essential treatments while comprehensive
policies include specialist therapies and medicines such as acupuncture.

Before buying a personal health insurance plan, it is
normal and ideal you get in touch with an insurance agent for him or her to
give you a rundown of what and what it entails. This is because the insurance
agent is already knowledgeable and he or she knows the cost and other things
involved for each plan. The insurance agent can give you details of the average
costs of examinations, hospitalisations, and medications and also suggest a
plan that you can easily afford while getting the desired services.

Premium

The price of personal health insurance is not always
fixed and the premium will vary depending on the holder's age. A 70 years old
subscriber will have to pay more premium compared to a 40 years old. Normally,
premiums rise on a yearly basis above the rate of general inflation. One of the
major reason for the rise in premiums is because diagnosing tests are becoming
more expensive and these costs are passed on to the policy holders.

Be
cost effective

According to experts, bringing down the cost of ownership
of a policy depends on two basic steps, which are:

Making comparisons with benchmark products

Taking advice from an agent who has good domain knowledge

Choose
wisely

Numerous types of personal health insurance plan exists
in the market, so you must endeavour to choose wisely. You should also note
that some health insurance policies offer options for you to choose your
preferred hospitals. There are flexible plans that add more treatments,
Therefore, health insurance policies need to be judged on the value it offers
to the policy user.

When buying a health insurance plan, you need to be
cautious about pitfalls too and some areas that needs clarification.

For example, if there is an insurance which offers
cosmetic treatment, accident and emergency treatment, it may not work if an
organ transplant comes up. So make sure that the health plan delivers at the
right time.